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Ikt'iss
My fourth major army used in picture wars. Overview The Ikt'iss are relatively new to galactic space. Discovered and introduced to galactic society by the Avonii, they quickly produced armies capable of advancing their own interests outside of their home system. The Ikt'iss are Ammonia based lifeforms. Planets that are habitable to human life are lethal to the Ikt'iss. They are also merely a foot long in body length, and breathe ammonia through organs similar to gills on their legs. Because of these factors, they choose to use machines for combat in their place. They usually arrive in large motherships, and control their machines directly from orbit. Each Ikt'iss in the mothership is assigned a single combat drone or vehicle, and can control it very effectively as though it were an extension of their own body. Ikt'iss technology is advanced enough to easily compete with other interstellar factions, despite having no influence from outsider technology. Exceptions of this are interstellar drives and some artificial intelligence. Ikt'iss weapons are primarily plasma based. Their weapons lose power quickly over long ranges, but they are excellent in medium and close quarters combat. They also make heavy use of weaponry based on ball lightning. The effects of these weapons can vary. These shots can be absorbed by a target, melting them from inside, or can travel a predetermined distance before exploding in mid-air. The Ikt'iss are not unified into a single nation. Within their race are many different nations reaching out into space on their own. Each faction has its own unit color scheme, preferred unit variants, and tactics. History The ikt’iss come from a world filled with extremely dangerous wildlife. The planet’s atmosphere is approximately five times thicker than Earth’s. It is believed that the ikt’iss are much older than humanity, despite the fact that they never achieved space travel before contact with the avonii, who were themselves far behind humanity. The extremely hostile nature of their world delayed advanced civilization, and hindered technological progress. Most of their long history is unfortunately lost to the wear of passing time. Factions Ikt’aki The Ikt’aki are a diverse group of Ikt'iss dedicated to advancing the interests of the Ikt'iss race as a whole. They are patriots. They are terrorists. They are freedom fighters. They are many things depending on who you ask. Their main focus is in the removal of the Avonii Empire from their homeworld. The Ikt’aki hold no recognized territory of their own. They are composed of businesses and other organizations supportive of their cause. While not xenophobic, they can go to great lengths for the benefit of any Ikt’iss nation. The Ikt’aki despise the Avonii Empire for their involvement within Ikt’iss space. By extension, They hate the Aktkiri for giving in to avonii rule. Still, they take great care in avoiding open conflict with the Aktkiri for fear of harming their kin. Their tactics and equipment are the most diverse of any Ikt'iss group, given that their funding and leadership varies extremely depending on where they are operating. They also have the largest reach of any Ikt'iss faction. They send groups around the galaxy in search of new technology, resources, and trade not sanctioned by the Avonii Empire. Their units are marked by orange markings and war-paint. Aktkiri Protectorate When the Avonii Empire came to the Ikt’iss homeworld, the Aktkiri accepted their offer to become a protectorate of the Empire. Since then, they have greatly prospered under the favoritism of the Empire. The Aktkiri utilize Avonii technology in their armed forces, and occasionally work with the Empire. Aktkiri territories are partially made up of the territories of other small empires that also accepted Avonii rule. The Avonii Empire merged the smallest nations together over time, until they became unified under Aktkiri rule. They are the most well funded of the Ikt'iss nations given their Imperial support. They have adopted the tactics, technology, and doctrines of the Avonii. Their machines are capable of basic intelligence in the absence of a control mothership. They are the only Ikt'iss faction to make regular use of field commanders. Like the Avonii Empire, living soldiers on the ground may lead groups of machines. This allows the use of fewer motherships, and makes direct communications with the machines unnecessary. Their units are golden in color. Ktikt’a Confederacy The Confederacy is a large collection of independent nations spanning across the globe. The Ktikt'a Confederacy was formed by nations wanting to remain independent of the Avonii, but recognized their limitations working alone. Unable to compete with the Aktkiri or the Kniktko, an economic and military alliance was formed. New territory acquired under the Confederacy's banner are given their own independent governments, which rely on and support the Confederacy as new member states. Their units are distinguished only by small patches of maroon, or symbols of the Confederacy. Kniktko Republic The Kniktko were once easily the largest and most powerful nation on Iktana. With the arrival of the Avonii Empire, their size is now rivaled by the Confederacy, and their wealth outmatched by the Aktkiri. Despite the new competition, they have prospered through trade with the newly discovered galactic civilizations. The Kniktko are proud and territorial. They have made the greatest efforts to expand beyond the homeworld. The Kniktko are unique in that they do not arm their motherships. In an appeal to the future equivalent of the Geneva convention, they aim to make destruction of motherships unnecessary. Their units are marked with blue paint. Military units Vanguard The Vanguard is a heavy ground unit. It is well armored but slow. It can be outfitted with a single large weapon, most commonly being a heavy plasma ball launcher. Variants: Heavy plasma ball launcher - Fires weightless balls of plasma. Can melt tanks or destroy all infantry with a large blast. It's flight path can be re-directed if direct line of sight is maintained, making it almost impossible to evade despite its slow projectile speed. Triple plasma guns - Rapid fire plasma shots. Very effective anti-infantry weapon. Plasma cannon - Fires large plasma shots. Effective anti-armor weapon. Hopper The Hopper is the most common Ikt'iss unit. It is very modular and favored by nearly all Ikt'iss factions. It moves around on a single leg powered by explosive bursts in the joints. This unit is very fast and mobile but lacks decent armor. By default it comes with two plasma guns ending in two sickles for close combat. Variants: Light plasma ball launcher - Fires slow moving balls of weightless plasma. Can explode, or melt a single target. Sniper - Wields a low-power laser. Causes minor damage to targets wearing any armor, but is extremely precise and works at very long range. Armored - Has a thick metal plate instead of a secondary weapon. Drastically improves survivability. Basic - May contain extra fuel for extended missions. May also carry nothing extra, making it lighter and even more maneuverable. Plasma cannon - Contains a heavy plasma weapon mounted on top of the unit for extra armor-piercing ability. Piloted A rare variant. Contains life support and a pilot. Strider (This unit has not been sprited!) Striders are used much like the hopper, but are a lighter troop variant. Striders are human-sized tripod walkers that usually carry a single plasma gun. They lack armor, and are usually remote-piloted by rookies that have not earned the right to pilot anything else. No variant descriptions yet. Shadow A small and fast machine used for various purposes. They are commonly used for scouting, spying, and stealth. They have short but extendable legs and unbroken 360 degree vision. They contain 3 tentacles within the disc on top of the body. No variant descriptions yet. Ethereal Etherals are basically complicated, high tech, hot air balloons. They are totally silent but emit a lot of light. At the center is a plasma ball which carries the lightweight craft. They serve few purposes other than to get a good view of the area from above. They are often used to circumvent signal jamming by boosting the signals used to control machines. No variants yet. Trident The Trident is the Ikt'iss equivalent of a gunship. They typically wield 3 plasma guns. They are quite small for an aircraft. No variants yet. Firebolt The Firebolt is an Ikt'iss atmospheric craft able to carry two modules. They are used as both transports and gunships. Variants: Transport module - Has 3 compartments, and is able to carry a maximum of 3 Vanguard tripods. Pod module - Carries 3 drop pods. Used in situations where an orbital drop is deterred and the transport itself is unable to land. Laser + energy storage modules - Granted by the Avonii empire, a chemical laser is mounted on one side of the craft and batteries are mounted on the other. Fires an extremely accurate and powerful laser from long ranges. (not pictured) Ground support module - contains various weapons such as a cannon or minigun. Fulfills a role of ground-attack aircraft.(not pictured) Category:Army Category:Future Category:Mechanical Category:Species